World-weary Worldwide Intern here. As the last days of my first World tour tick by I’ve broken through the barrier of melancholy that has kept me from writing until now. And so to begin, as a perhaps apt and not too ascerbic comment on the rest of my ramblings to come, I humbly give you…

There are many great things to see and do in and around Beijing but nothing puts more of a lift in your stride than a fully cleansing irrigation, or so I was told in faltering English by several geriatrics as they beamed on their spritely way out of this institution. Me? I chose to hunt down the cheapy electronics and knock-off branded wear found in the clamouring Hutongs a little further on.

Have to say I was still smarting from the previous night when my lovely travel companion was carried off by some local talent; the sorriest excuse for a *edited* I ever saw!

…”He had a lovely curved beak” she said. Hrmmph!

Travelling the World to experience new cultures is a fine thing but the ugly and insidious nature of globalisation has been permeating human presence for far longer than even the gloomiest radical might suspect. It would appear that the last Emperor was partial to a vente, white chocolate, Colombian, decaf mocha with soy and cinnamon.

Oh, did I mention how hot it is here in the Summer? 40 degrees drives the wily to every bit of shade…

But alas duty calls and some poor mugs answer…

Remember the days before the Internet? No blogs, no chatrooms, no MySpace ™, no Google ™. People actually had real world, tangible pursuits. Got to admit that when you don’t check your email, deal with spam and watch all those crazy ass videos people keep posting there’s quite a bit of time to develop a skill and produce some awesome artifacts:

We left Beijing for a trip to the countryside but had a little trouble getting into the neighbour’s garden! Some buggers are so precious about their land but I guess this guy had a whole bunch of headaches negotiating party-wall maintenance.